Foods from India - Gujarat

January 22, 2014

Sauteed whole mung beans were a staple breakfast in my grand mother's kitchen long before folks had begun the conversation on the merits of whole grains & legumes.

It seems to me that my parents and grandparents pretty much had good eating habits down pat - cooking from scratch, with fresh ingredients, whole grains and a whole lot of greens, vegetables and lean protein.

My weekends were always spent in my maternal grandmother's (nani) home and I still remember the day kicking off with a small bowl of these wonderful mung beans and a tall glass of milk.

My nani's crumpled form today is a far cry of her former self as she sleeps in the fetal position in the care of a nurse, 24/7. This once feisty, independent and self assured woman has been reduced to this. But her skin continues to glow and she is beautiful in my eyes. Very old & shrivelled but still beautiful and I for one will always see her as the woman I remember - standing tall and one of the finest culinary masters I have ever known.

I like to believe that that small spark that shines in me, comes from her.

Fortunately for me, my Mum though not adventurous in her culinary exploits does what she does very well. She has my nani's hand and continues cooking her traditional dishes for which I am eternally grateful.

As she prepares the morning mung beans just like her Mum did for decades, it reinforces for me the importance of carrying forward the small things that make our families unique, that bind us by blood and by tradition.

These mung beans have a few ground spices, a handful of fresh herbs, loads of fresh ginger root with a few curry leaves throw in and little else. Saragva ni sing aka drum-sticks is a long vegetable akin to drum-sticks you beat a drum with, not the chicken variety and is optional but can be purchased in Indian grocery stores.

The result however is spectacular so much so that Mr. Hubby actually asked Mum to video skype this for him.

September 19, 2013

Sooner or later, if you love good Indian food and make it often, you're going to need a recipe for both these chutneys.

The hari chutney and Imli chutney - one spicy and refreshing, the other hot and sweet are pillars of the chutney community. You'll find them served either seperately or together depending on the dish but more often than not they go hand in hand like bread and butter.

Especially popular with street foods and other deep fried finger foods all through the country, they add so much tpo each bite as palate cleansers and tantalizing the taste buds, all at once.

Be it vadas, samosas, pakoras or bhel, these chutneys are like dollops of magic that make the dish.

I certainly couldn't do without these and the home made version are so much more superior than the watery insipid versions commercially available that I guarantee you'll be making these again and again.

August 29, 2012

Garam masala is used extensively in North Indian and Pakistan cuisine is a spice blend that is as organic as it is singular. Garam masala ~ garam (hot) and masala (spices) is a blend of whole spices that are roasted and ground to a powder.

A spice blend that is fragrant and pungent and hence the term 'garam' here refers not to heat i.e. capsaicin content but rather to the intensity of the spices as they come together.

I consider it organic because it is a recipe that has evolved with each family.

Though varied in composition of spices and each family uses its own signature recipe its foundation remains intact. It is not unheard of that in some family recipe as many as 36 whole spices are used to blend their garam masala.

I do add a bit of fennel seeds in mine though my mother does not and I know others who substitute it with nutmeg.

Tweak to your heart's content but know this, store bought garam masala can never come close to homemade and since it can last fragrant for up to a year if refrigerated in an airtight container, now there's simply no excuse to grind up some of your own.

June 25, 2012

When baby red potato globes grace my supermarket bins in large mounds, it invariably means that Dum Aloo is about to make an appearance on the dinner or brunch table.

Dum Aloo is yet another example of how simple kitchen staples from Kashmir and North-India have been mostly over-done, over-spiced and over-creamed to point beyond recognition.

It is also the reason why I hold traditional cooks like my mother, my mother-in-law and my grand-mother who hold on to authentic recipes with hoops of steel in such esteem and reverence. I think they represent a dying breed - the last of the stalwarts who continue to carry forward recipes of their mothers and grandmothers resolute against tv-chef-doms that seems to be changing the face of traditional Indian cuisine into cream based-tomato paste versions of everything.

It therefore is startling when at a dinner party the one thing that gets rave reviews and numerous recipe requests are these potatoes from my mother-in-law's kitchen. So simple is this recipe that when I recite it in person, it is looked upon with disbelief.

A sense of - "how is it possible, that some thing so simple tastes this good? surely she's holding out on us".

Except that I am not.

It far more difficult to cook simply, to be simple and there-in lies true art.

April 25, 2012

There are some that things synonymous with our childhood. For me, its weekends spent at my grand parents home. My Grandmother is a phenomenal cook and weekends at their home always meant wonderful treats and little made- from-scratch afternoon snacks. It was a time for playing, swinging from trees and listening to the National news on the radio. More often than not, punctuated by my Grandmother's voice rising above all others as she hollered at my Granddad who invariably fell asleep reading the newspaper in the middle of the day.

Those days remind me of pyjama afternoons.

Except for meal times. Now these were always an event as a parade of dishes would make their way into the dining area. There are certain dishes that almost always served in Gujarati meals. Chach which is a thin butter milk (hand churned of course) a selection of vegetable dishes, various pickles, steamed rice, super thin rotis embellished with 'ghee', papads and always a dal.

In my Grandmother's home that dal would invariably be 'Traveti dal' - A wonderfully simple creation, incensed by the process of tempering (a selection of whole spices, cast into hot oil) and infused with flavor. Here, once again,' less is more'!

April 07, 2012

Today is cleaning day and that means I am elbow deep in chemicals that are doing God know what to my insides.

So as I was busy wiping down the counter tops, I look down and sniff only to realise that the kitchen paper towel I was using for cleaning was the same I had used to soak up the bacon grease from breakfast....UGH!

How do these things happen to me?

Now left with the task of scrubbing the counter tops yet again, my mind drifts to a humongous bowl of yogurt that has been sitting in the refrigerator since the day before and I know that no matter how I am feeling at this moment, it is impossible to not feel instantly elevated when I am just a few steps away from my favorite dessert.

Srikhand is one of the main desserts in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and since I have Gujarati blood flowing through my veins and Maharashtrian by geography, can there be any doubt, that I imbibed the love for Srikhand before I took my first steps?

Another reason for my addiction - my Mum! While many buy this dessert ready-made or at restaurants (phooey to that) are used to thick, cornflour hardened, somewhat sour tasting Srikhand, I grew up on my Mum's which is as sweet and smooth as silk.

Thick sweetened yogurt, infused with the scent & flavor of saffron and lavishly bestowed with nuts, can you think of anything more refreshing on a hot day?

And like any true love, this one has had me in its clutches from cradle and probably to grave which for a change is a good thing. One bite of this devilishly simple dessert and you may be joining in the chorus line singing its praises as well!

December 07, 2011

The fact that I am fixing Palak Pakoras must mean one and only one thing ~ it's raining cats and dogs & pails!

In fact it gets much much worse. Tonight's forecast reads verbatum from the National Weather Service is as follows....

.........WINTRY MIX OF RAIN AND SLEET CHANGING OVER TO SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS... 2 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW AND SLEET.

So you see, pakoras it is! Pakoras and rain (or sleet) go together like Jack and Jill, cucumber and dill, Lewis and Clarke....you get the drift.

Growing up in India, I urge you to find me one family that didn't wake up on a cold rainy morning to the words "Pakora aur chai ho jaaye"which loosely translates into " Pakoras and tea it is!". Call it cultural, I call it utterly delicious.

What's not to love of besan, a chickpea batter flavored with whole spices like coriander and carom seeds, red chillies and turmeric into which is nestled fresh spinach leaves, fresh ginger and onions, globs of which are dropped into hot oil just so they rise to the surface all light and airy?

Now imagine eating these hot off the stove with piping hot chai ~ see what I mean? Some traditions are just meant to be.

August 07, 2010

We had some acquaintances over to dinner the other night. They are some friends of friends and we had only met them a couple of times at community gathering events. They had heard of my cooking skills (not shy am I?) and they wanted some authentic home cooked Indian grub. So we invited them.

One of the ladies saw that I was using ghee and she started talking to the other women about how she picked up a bottle of fragrant ghee at this high end organic foods store (for something like 8 or 9 bucks). Now no offense, but I have experienced some of these ready made ghee's available in the high end markets and all I can say is - close but no cigar!

I realized as I was stirring the dal that as long as one can get their hands on sweet cream butter (I bought 2 lbs on sale at 1.59/lb just to make ghee) and stir a pot, you can get the most awesome, liquid, golden ghee in 45 minutes flat, for one-thirds the cost and double the quantity!

Now for those of you unfamiliar with ghee, it is also known as clarified butter and it is fantastic in rice dishes, Indian cooking and makes a mean steak au poivre to tow -- you think I'm kidding - try it and see for yourself.

I cook my steak with nothing but - and here's why. It has a much higher burning point, than butter and I think of it as the 'clean fuel of cooking fat'. Good term, eh?

It has no strong discernible flavor so you can use it in just about anything - roasted veggies, roasted potatoes (to die for) and almost all Indian cooking - for which olive oil has too strong a flavor and scent. Do you what my favorite food in ghee is? Fried eggs! Yummy!

Seriously you have to see to believe what is left is left of my couple of years old box grater.
You'd think I have been placing my posterior on it for hours on end - everyday!
No - this is the result of normal wear and tear.